Locally Grown. Hand-Built in Maine

We received a new shipment of Northern White Cedar today from Portage Mills. It is beautiful clear wood and will make for some gorgeous boards. We receive the boards as 1″x 6″ rough sawn lumber. Once it is air dried, we surface plane it, square up the edges on the tablesaw then resaw it on the bandsaw into the final plank thickness. Some boards then go back to the tablesaw to get ripped into rail strips. Those rail strips then go to the router table to get beaded and coved. It’s a lot of steps, but the pay off is watching each board take shape.

If you havn’t seen it yet, the current issue of Men’s Journal has a great shot of Ty Williams and the Grain shop in it. Grain was included in a style piece entitled the American Craftsmen. Be sure to pick up your copy today.

For a long time, we have been working towards getting our board designs into a computer aided design program with the end goal of being able to cut our frames and keels on a CNC machine. We are proud to say that we have now reached that point. We are working with 5th-Axis (http://5th-Axis.com/) in Stonington Connecticut to produce the keels and frames for each of our boards. CNC is an extrememly efficient method of cutting plywood shapes. It eliminates any human error, and allows us to offer a consistent product, whether we’re building one board, or selling 100 kits.

In an effort to further conserve resources and save time, Grain has just purchased a new Jet Bandsaw. This saw enables us to re-saw 1/4″ planks from a 6″ wide board. In the past, we would have to rip the board lengthwise in order to get a 3″ wide plank. We could then re-saw it on the tablesaw. This new tool will save us sawing time because we eliminate a cut, saves us wood because the blades kerf, or thickness, is much less then the tablesaw blade, and in the end, will help us to build a better board by eliminating some glue joints.

Here’s a shot of two new 9′ boards I’m just finishing up. They look amazing if I do say so myself. One is built using mostly Western Red Cedar, while the other is Northern White Cedar. Structurally they are about the same, however the white cedar is slightly lighter then red. The biggest difference in the wood is in the grain patterns. The red cedar is quarter sawn meaning the grain runs perpendicular to the plank. It has a tighter more uniform pattern and is great for re-sawing and book matching planks. White cedar is flat sawn so the grain runs parallel to the plank. This gives the wood a more swirley look with wider grain patterns.

The Grain shop, and local artist/”shaper” Ty Williams were the main focus during a recent fashion shoot for Men’s Journal Magazine. Decked in Calvin Klein camo and wool, Ty sweated it out for the crew, while managing to keep a smile on his face throughout. Look for the pics in the upcoming October issue of Men’s Journal

Grain was given a great opportunity this summer. We were offered prime window space to display our boards in the Burton Snowboards NYC store. The boards will be on display until mid August, so be sure to check em out. Thanks to Denis, Gavin and Ben for making it happen.

Hot off the printing press, the Grain t-shirts have arrived in York. 2 different designs, printed on American Apparel t’s. Illustration done by none other than Ty Will Yums. Men’s and Women’s sizes and styles available for both designs.

Email mike@grainsurfboards or call 802.598.7194 to order your shirt today.